Potatoes

To preserve potatoes through the winter, let them set out in the air (and even in the sun) for a few hours until completely dry on the skins. Gently rub off loose dirt and then put them in a totally dark, cool place where there is no danger of freezing. About 50 - 60 degrees will be alright. Cooler than that is OK also. Be sure not to wash them as this will soften the skin as well as wash off natural oils and naturally occurring chemicals that help to protect the potato. This holds true for most all vegetables and fruits being prepared for storage. Fruits and vegetables from less fertile ground sometimes don't keep as well because the mineral levels are lower.

Potatoes can be planted around the end of March for early potatoes. If you plan to keep them through the winter they can be planted up to the early part of May. Mix any compost or other organic matter you can (even a little horse manure or cow manure is all right) into the soil as soon as possible this fall. Scatter some gypsum at the rate of 1 pound for every 50 square feet along with wood ashes if you have them. Plant a cover crop of winter rye, Austrian winter peas, and hairy vetch, and till it in early in the fall. It will grow through the winter, and then you can till or plow it into the soil to increase fertility next spring just before planting your potatoes and other garden things. This can be done on the whole garden. There are additional things that will help more, but this is simple and will greatly help your fertility and yield. You can also add wood ashes, gypsum, boron, and kelp meal to the potato rows.

Calcium moves down in the soil, so it is necessary to monitor levels and keep sufficient calcium added. Plowing deep each year helps to retain calcium in the soil longer by turning the lower levels back up to the top and putting the calcium back up higher. Until calcium levels get established and stabilized, all other measures will have little effect. Start with calcium. That is what you are doing when you add gypsum,--supplying calcium.

Be concerned about adequate calcium first of all. Next in priority is phosphorous and organic matter. Phosphate should be twice as high as potash in an ideal soil structure for gardening. Most soils are much higher in potassium than phosphorous, which encourages more weed growth and less tasty vegetables. The best choices for supplying phosphorus or phosphate are soft rock phosphate, Tennessee brown phosphate, or a commercial procuct called mono ammonium phosphate. If using the M.A.P. it is best mixed with sugar or some form of carbon (molasses meal works well).

Scatter the snow peas evenly so that you have at least one pea seed for every 3 inches each way (average). They won't be completely uniform in their spread, but you can imagine an average. Till them in lightly (2 or 3 inches) and let them grow. There won't be anything to pick this fall or winter. They will just barely get started. But they will grow anytime that the weather is above freezing, and the roots will keep growing all winter. In the spring they will grow by leaps and bounds when it warms up. To get the most benefit for building up the soil, you should let them grow until they are 8 - 12 inches tall, and then plow or till them in. Let them decompose a week or two before planting a garden crop in the soil.

It would be good to get a soil test as soon as possible, and that will get you an idea of what other things to do this winter to prepare for next spring. Fall and winter are the prenatal period for getting good harvest next summer. In North Carolina soil testing information can be found here: http://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/sthome.htm .

(See http://www.mmpress.info/, where this information was obtained.)